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Often REALTORS® ask why they should contribute to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC). The answer is simple. REALTORS® Advocacy and RPAC impacts your bottom line.

Through our efforts, REALTORS® and/or homeowners either increased their commissions or saved cash. Just consider the following:

$3,825 per REALTOR® saved annually by cutting capital gains taxes. REALTORS® convinced Congress to increase tax exclusion on the sale of a principle residence. The year following this change, 600,000 more homes sold than the previous year. Each year that's an extra $3,825 for every agent.

$2,300 saved annually by defeating commission tax. Over the last 25 plus years Florida REALTORS® have successfully stopped sales tax on services. This includes your real estate commission (Based on the average annual commission by REALTORS® x 6% tax)

Reduced business and occupation tax. Florida REALTORS® convinced the 2011 state legislature to freeze local governments’ ability to enact new business taxes, which prevented more sales associates from being charged this fee.

$130 per REALTOR® saved annually by repealing communications tax. Florida REALTORS® helped repeal the Substitute Communications Tax. This tax was levied up to 18% on networked computers, pagers, PDAs and any other future technology. Savings: $130 per year.

$100 saved through corporate, tangible tax exemptions. By increasing exemptions for corporate income taxes and tangible property taxes from $5,000 to $25,000, REALTORS® who qualify for this exemption save hundreds of dollars in taxes; plus more in preparation fees and time.

$36 million saved for property managers via reduced eviction costs. Florida REALTORS® worked hard to reduce fees to evict tenants. The legislature agreed to reduce the fee from $265 to$185.This action saved Florida property owners and managers approximately $36 million each year.

On average, $786 saved per home sold by defeating transfer tax. For years legislation has been filed to add an additional transfer fee on the sale of a home in Florida to eliminate impact fees. Florida REALTORS® have successfully defeated any such effort. The transfer tax would have added $786 to the cost of the average home which would have been a lost sale for 1 of every 8 members.

$200 million saved by defeating local option doc stamp tax. By defeating this tax, Florida REALTORS® saved nearly $200 million dollars in new taxes. The taxes would have added $300 to closing costs of a $100,000 home.

$5,400 saved per REALTOR® annually by preventing banks’ involvement in real estate. On March 11, 2009, the President signed legislation that permanently keeps banks out of the real estate business.

Expanding the GSE loan limit increases revenue by $6,250 for REALTORS®. By making more loans available, the increase in the GSE loan limits will increase the earnings of the typical REALTOR® by $6,250 per year.

$30 million - Amount sellers save annually by defeating property environmental disclosure. Florida REALTORS® successfully defeated a complex environmental disclosure requirement. It is estimated that each home seller would have had to pay up to $150 for the required environmental report.

$606 million saved by forgiving mortgage debt. This initiative provides $606 million in tax relief to consumers over three years by excluding forgiven mortgage debt from their federal taxation.